University of Warsaw LibraryUniversity of Warsaw Library

 Architectural Accessibility

The Warsaw University Library building is fully accessible for people with mobility impairments. All lifts are adapted to enable wheelchair users to move around independently. There is a suitably equipped toilet on each floor. All workstations, the Circulation Desk and one of the self-service check-out stations are accessible to wheelchair users.

 Equipment

The Library has equipment to make it easier for blind and partially sighted people and people with mobility impairments to use the resources of the BUW or its own materials.

Equipment for the visually impaired

Three booths are available at BUW for the visually impaired and visually impaired equipped with:

• workstations with screen-reading software installed, dedicated to blind people, and ‘screen’ magnification applications used by visually impaired people,
• high-speed scanners dedicated to book scanning,
• computers with OCR (optical text recognition) software, enabling scanned content to be saved in text documents,
• an 80-character Braille monitor, allowing detailed text analysis for blind people.

Authorization
Persons who wish to use specialized equipment, in particular specially adapted computers and equipment of the individual booths, are asked to document their needs for using the facilities in the Office for Persons with Disabilities. Computer access passwords and keys to booths will be made available only to persons having authorization issued in the Office for Persons with Disabilities at the University of Warsaw. Authorization can be obtained by all BUW users, not only students and UW employees, if it is necessitated by their state of health.

Academic Digital Library (ABC)
The Academic Digital Library deals with the adaptation of learning materials to the needs of people with disabilities. It began as a project initiated by the Office for Persons with Disabilities at the University of Warsaw in 2012. It was created by transforming the Talking Book Library, founded in 1998. It provides services of preparing, gathering and giving access to collections for students, employees and unenrolled students of tertiary education institutions whose disability prevents their use of standard printed materials.
The library collections are divided into three categories: “Books”, “Magazines” and “Other documents” which may be outlines, presentations and non-book or magazine publications.
At present the library counts several thousand collections and their number is systematically increasing.

The service desk of the Academic Digital Library is in the BUW Open Stacks (level 2, next to the Didactic Book Collection, room 263h). The ABC services desk is open on Mondays and Wednesdays 8 am – 4 pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays 9 am – 4 pm.

Contact:

• biblioteka.bon@uw.edu.pl
• phone: (22) 55 25 383.

 Regulations

Limitations on borrowing outside of the Library (Chapter III, items 49.1, 2, 4, 5 and 7 of the BUW Regulations) may be suspended for a definite period of time for people with disabilities, upon their  authorization by the Office for Persons with Disabilities UW. This applies to works from the open stacks marked with a red sticker or a dot as well as those included in the reference collections of the reading rooms and library departments, encyclopaedic, dictionary, bibliographical and other information publications, periodicals and books published before 1950. In order to borrow them it is necessary to fill in a traditional order slip (available at the Information Desk). To collect the ordered books at the Circulation Desk, please show your authorization.

 Services for Persons with Disabilities

Like all readers, people with disabilities have the possibility to:

• order book searches by phone:  (22) 55 25 178, 55 25 179, e- mail: informacja.buw@uw.edu.pl,
• order books from the Open Stacks to the Reading Room or the Circulation Desk without taking them out of the shelves in person (order processing time 30-60 min.),
• order publications located in the BUW Closed Stacks directly from the catalogue online,
• visiting the Library. Please book in advance: room 141, phone: (22) 55 25 181, e-mail: informacja.buw@uw.edu.pl.

 Contact

Detailed information on the possibilities and conditions of using the University Library by people with disabilities is provided by:

• BUW Information Desk –  phone: (22) 55 25 178, 22 55 25 179, e-mail: informacja.buw@uw.edu.pl,
• the Office for Persons with Disabilities UW – e-mail: bon@uw.edu.pl

BUW playroom is a separate room for parents with children, where they can learn and work with the book collection from the Open Stacks. There is special space to play and with books for children. In the BUW playroom there is also a feeding and baby-changing corner.

The BUW playroom is located on level 1 next to the lift, on the side of the Information Desk. Open during the library opening times. Please collect the key at the Information Desk.

The sponsor of the playroom equipment is the company Meblik Sp. z o.o.

 Regulations

1. The reading room is subject to the regulations and safety regulations of the University of Warsaw Library.
2. Work stations in the reading room are dedicated solely to the readers with children.
3. The carers of a child are responsible for the safety of the child in the reading room. A child cannot remain in the reading room unattended by an adult.
4. Books and periodicals brought to the reading room from the open stacks shall be placed on the trolley outside the reading room after finishing work.
5. The carers are liable for damage caused while using the reading room.
6. No elements of the equipment, toys or children’s books can be taken away from the reading room.
7. Used hygiene products (nappies, baby wipes etc.) must not be left behind in the reading room.
8. The reading room, especially the space for children to play, should be kept clean.
9. Any comments regarding the use of the reading room (eg damage, dirt, etc.) should be reported to the Information Desk.